What Is and What Should Never Be
by chasingmavericks
Summary: Shawn will do anything to protect Gus. Even after getting hurt defending Gus from his date's jealous ex, Shawn will stop at nothing to make sure his best friend will be okay-especially after learning that the crime is much deeper than a simple bar fight. No Slash.
1. Oh What Fun It Will Be

**I'm back (already?) yeah kind of ridiculous. If you haven't read my most recent story, it's called "At Least This Truck Has Airbags" and I won't spoil it for you more than the title already does, but Shawn, Henry, truck. That's it. Read if you'd like! There may be some connecting material in this story, but if you haven't read the other one, it won't affect your understanding.**

 **This is a story more about Shawn and Gus, more specifically the lengths that Shawn will go to to keep Gus safe. They have a hilarious relationship but it's actually really deep (obviously!) I just watched "Gus Walks into a Bank" and the scene that Shawn finds out that Gus is inside and lunges forward, only to be held back by Lassie and Jules, wow that got me. So let's see where this fic goes!**

 **Note: I love old music, the title is a Led Zeppelin song.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Psych. Rated T to be safe.**

 **Note again: Set somewhere in Season 2**

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"Come on Buddy, you need some cheering up." Shawn said to his unusually gloomy best friend as they both walked on the sidewalk of downtown Santa Barbara.

"No Shawn, what I need is to go home, sit on my couch with a bowl of popcorn, watch the Real Housewives of Orange County, fall asleep, and wake up tomorrow as if tonight never happened." Gus replied angrily.

"Guuuus." Shawn whined. "First of all, I'm going to ignore that pathetic suggestion and remind you, as your best friend, that the real Burton Guster would not give up this easily."

"Really Shawn? You'd call this giving up easily? Let me just remind you of what happened tonight." Gus glared at his friend, who had looked down and put all of his focus into kicking a small rock in front of them on the sidewalk.

"Shawn."

 _*kick*_

"Shawn!"

 _*kick*_

"Alright that's it." Gus said as he stepped in front of Shawn and kicked the rock into the street.

"Hey! You owe me a new one." Shawn complained.

Gus gave Shawn an irritated glare.

"It was never new in the first place. Rocks are millions of years old." Gus said impatiently.

"Well it was new to me..." Shawn replied sadly.

Gus let out a slow breath.

"I can't do this with you right now. Can we get back to me please?"

Shawn finally let down his dramatic mask and looked at his friend.

"Gus, for the millionth time, get over it. I already said just forget about it and let's just go have some fun." Shawn elbowed his friend's shoulder.

"Shawn, you don't understand she-"

"Went out the bathroom window at the restaurant, I know."

"Wait how did-"

"That girl ain't afraid to climb."

"Shawn!"

"What?" Shawn asked innocently.

"How did you know she went out the bathroom window? I only told you she left in the middle of dinner."

His only answer was silence. He looked at Shawn and saw that his lips were pursed and his head tilted back up toward the sky, making a pathetic attempt at nonchalantness.

"Oh my God, did you have something to do with this?" Gus asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Yes?!"

"Well no."

"What do you mean no? Shawn this question doesn't have two answers!" Gus said, unable to comprehend Shawn's inability to give a straight answer.

"Alright Buddy fine. I was there. And no I wasn't stalking you or anything. I was picking up food for my dad and I. He apparently won some gift card at some fisherman's competition or something-is that even a real thing? And did you know that fancy places like that let you order ahead now? What an advancement in the food industry!"

"Shawn stop talking about food."

"Oh right. Okay anyway I saw you and her and she had just gotten up to go to the bathroom. I promise I was not going to interrupt you but I could hear her talking on the phone. Dude, she's married."

"Okay Shawn you don't have to try to make me feel better."

"Oh that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm being honest here. The thing is that she was going to go back to the table and carry on like nothing happened. She was blatantly lying to her husband on the phone and that's just not okay." Shawn said seriously.

"Okay..." Gus said slowly. "But why did she go out the window?"

Shawn shrugged. "I confronted her."

"You what?"

"I told her I heard everything."

"That doesn't explain why she went out the window instead of the front door, Shawn." Gus said, his anger still boiling under the surface.

Shawn couldn't hide his smirk.

"Did you see her necklace? Her own Zodiac sign? This girl is a believer of not-so-factual things. So I bumped into her, had a little 'psychic' episode and basically told her if she didn't go out that window right this second she would disrupt the balance of the earth or something like that. She was out of there before I could say 'sharcutlery.'"

"It's Charcuterie."

"Well, that _does_ sound more delicious." Shawn admitted.

Gus was still pondering the past hour when they came to a crosswalk and paused.

"Wait a minute. If you knew she left me there why didn't you come tell me?"

"Oh Gus come on. I had dinner for my dad and I that wasn't going to eat itself and I knew you'd call me after stewing in your own sadness for a bit. If I came over right when she left you wouldn't have believed me and blamed me for it, then you most likely would have desperately called her over and over again before solemnly driving your car home. That's a montage I could do without." Shawn replied, shrugging his shoulders at Gus's glare.

"I see how it is, you really just wanted to go out tonight and have fun. At least I can get a second date."

"Ouch." Shawn did his best to look hurt. "At least I don't date married chicks."

"Touché."

After crossing the street Gus nudged Shawn.

"Where the heck are we going, anyway?"

Shawn pointed just ahead where a neon sign was flickering outside of a busy bar.

"Seriously, dude?"

"Yup. Just like the good ole days." Shawn said with a smile.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"I can't believe you took me to the bar that you got me blackout drunk for my 21st birthday." Gus said.

"See I told you it'd be fun." Shawn said with a glint of mischief in his eye.

"Alright fine, I'm done being a stick in the mud. If we are going to have fun, let's do it."

"That's my best friend!" Shawn said as he fist bumped Gus and surveyed the territory of the bar, instantly spotting a pool table in the corner. He nodded toward it while eyeing Gus.

"Really Shawn? We haven't done this in years." Gus said, a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"Oh come on it'll be fun." Shawn said cheerfully as he began to strut over to the pool table that was occupied by four large men.

"Your dad is going to kill you." Gus said, although Shawn was too far away to hear him.

Gus followed a few steps behind and Shawn was already setting up a game.

"...and gentlemen this is my friend Rosemary Hotpants. Ready to play?"

One of the men growled. "Are you sure you want to do this kid?"

Gus couldn't believe these guys were falling for Shawn's con. They used to do it all the time when they were younger to pick up a few extra bucks but once Henry found out what Shawn was doing, he was livid. He was more angry about the fact that Shawn was putting himself in danger by hustling people in a bar than he was about the fact that Shawn had won so much money in a not-so-fair way.

For Gus, it felt like déjà vu. Here Shawn was acting as the naïve bar-goer that wants to play a bit of pool. Little did his competition know that Shawn was _insanely_ good at pool. Gus never understood it, but it was something Shawn could always do. He figured Shawn could visualize exactly where he had to hit the ball and then he just did it, making the game look easy.

In fact, Gus was really just there as support. He never really touched the pool stick himself since Shawn usually won before it could even be his turn. He didn't mind, especially when just to his left stood one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Soon Shawn's antics faded into background noise.

" _See the purple 4 ball there boys? Oh wait, now it's gone._ "

Gus turned to say something to the mystery woman but she spoke up first.

"Are you from around here?" She asked.

"Uh yeah, how about you?" Gus stammered, caught slightly off guard.

"I'm just in town for a bit." She replied.

 _"Oh wow! Is this really the winning shot? I swear I haven't played this game in years."_

"Oh, business or pleasure?" Gus asked.

"Mostly business, but I'm hoping to squeeze in a little pleasure at some point." She said, touching his shoulder.

"Well here in Santa Barbara, there's plenty of pleasure to be found." Gus said, doing his best to show her the Guster Charm.

She laughed slightly. "Oh, I can tell."

"This is bullshit!" Yelled one of the pool players. The background noise in Gus's mind suddenly became front and center as the enraged man screamed at Shawn. "I ain't paying for some cheat!"

Shawn remained calm. "Listen bud, I won fair and square. Maybe if you spent a little more time practicing pool and a little less time trying to pick up college girls in bars then you'd be a better player. Also, weren't acid-washed jeans rightfully left in the 90s?"

Gus watched in horror as Shawn's opponent grabbed Shawn and threw him roughly into the wall. Shawn felt his breath forced from his body and was given no time to react as two massive hands held him against the wall. He saw one of the hands ball itself into a fist and Shawn could only hold up his hands in defense.

"Hey!" A rugged, female voice erupted from behind the bar. "No fighting in my bar Jack, now take your over-inflated ego and your friends and get the hell out of here."

The man-presumably Jack-released Shawn and stepped away. Shawn let his body sag as he caught his breath. When he righted himself he looked toward Gus and gave him a nod as if saying "Everything's fine."

Jack gathered his possey and began walking toward the exit. He gave Shawn one last look of digust before walking out the door.

Shawn stepped around the pool table toward Gus and his newly acquired companion.

"I think it's time for a drink."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Shawn, Gus, and Cory-who Gus had learned the name of-had been sitting at the bar for over an hour. Gus could not believe how perfect she was. He quite literally could not find a single thing wrong about her.

However, Shawn wasn't so sure. He didn't know exactly what the problem was but something just felt _off_ about her. But he didn't want to ruin Gus's night for the second time, so he kept his opinion to himself.

They learned that Cory worked in real estate.

 _Do real estate agents have to travel often?_

But Cory seemed to be interested in asking Gus most of the questions, even getting oddly personal at times. But Gus was soaking up the attention and happily answered everything while Shawn sat there rolling his eyes.

Shawn's eyes wandered to Cory's hands and he caught sight of the ever so slight indent on her ring finger-an indent from a ring.

 _Oh come on not again._

Shawn sighed.

 _Maybe it's old. Maybe she's not married._

Shawn was busy musing possible scenarios when the bar door was aggressively kicked open, revealing a furious looking man, eyes scanning the entire bar until they locked on Gus.

"Oh you piece of shit! Cory!" He screamed as he pushed his way through the crowd of people in the bar. He stepped directly in front of Gus and Cory, his maniacal eyes switching between the two.

Gus was about to say something in defense but Cory spoke up first. "You've got no right being here Jay. We're over."

Jay's eyes widened. "Oh is that it? You go find some short stack rebound the day after you stop returning my calls?"

"Hey!" Gus interjected. "I'm 5'10"!"

"You're gonna pay for this." Jay growled as he picked up a beer from behind the counter and fisted his hand into Gus's shirt.

"Hey!" The female voice behind the bar yelled again, but this time she was ignored.

"Jay, no!" Cory pleaded.

Shawn could not longer sit there. He shot out of his seat. "Whoa! Everyone hold up." He held his hands up in surrender. He saw Jay's shoulders stiffen.

"You sir, are angry at Cory, yes?"

"That's right man." Jay replied.

"Well listen, I know breakups are hard and by the looks of this, breaking off an engagement is even harder but-"

"How'd you know that?" Cory asked, turning back to Shawn.

"You see, I'm psychic." Shawn shrugged.

"Oh bullshit, who put you up to this?" Jay asked angrily, but released his grip on Gus.

"No one. Now just relax." Shawn said while eyeing the bottle in Jay's hand. It was still completely full and unopened.

"I AM relaxed! I'm not going to let my girl get taken away from me!" He yelled.

"Alright, alright." Shawn said cautiously. "But it's not Gus's fault okay? Leave him alone. It was my idea to come here."

"Oh so you're the reason for all of this?!" Jay took a step toward Shawn.

"Well I haven't had anything to do with your relationship up until about five minutes ago so that's a pretty big jump. I'm going to assume that Cory here broke up with you for reasons beyond my control."

"Don't you dare speak about her like that. Just shut up okay? If this little shit," he turned toward Gus "thinks he's good enough for Cory then you've lost your damn mind. Now get up!" He said to Gus.

"No way, man." Gus said, somewhat fearful. He was surprised when he found himself on his feet, pulled there roughly by Jay's meaty hands. Now that he was nearly eye level with Jay, Gus could clearly see that he was under the influence of several drugs.

Shawn could see out of the corner of his eye that the woman behind the bar had just gotten off the phone, hopefully calling the police. _This will be over soon._

"No one can ever replace me!" Jay screamed as he raised the beer bottle above his head, holding it tightly by the neck, looking as if he was about to spike a football. _Right into Gus's head._

 _Gus._

Shawn immediately lunged forward, pushing Gus out of the way and driving Jay into the ground. His momentum carried him farther than he anticipated and he found himself on his knees. He was in the process of putting his feet under him when he heard his best friend and Cory simultaneously call out in horror.

"Shawn! Look out!"

"Jay! No!"

Shawn looked up at his assailant, only to catch a glimpse of a downward blur heading straight toward his skull. He tried to put his hands up to stop the blow but he knew he had failed when he felt the bone-jarring force against his temple.

Gus could only watch helplessly as the bottle was smashed over his best friend's head. He saw Shawn go limp and collapse to the floor.

Everything seemed to slow down. There was no noise and only darkness. Shawn could feel his body falling to the floor as gravity took hold. It seemed to take forever to finally hit the ground but when he did, all senses came rushing back.

He could hear downright chaos happening above him and see blurred images moving about.

Gus sprinted the few steps to Shawn and dropped to his knees next to the still form. Shawn's hair and most of his shirt were soaked from the broken bottle and he could see a steady stream of blood trickling from his temple and to the floor. Gus had to fight his natural reaction to run away and vomit, the only thing keeping him there was the fact that it was his best friend lying there, and not some random person. Gus also wasn't going to let Jay come near Shawn again-not like he could even stop him-but Gus was going to stay next to Shawn for all it was worth. He was relieved to see that Jay had apparently been detained by several other bar-goers. And then Gus heard an even more beautiful sound.

"Nobody move! Hands in the air!"

 _Finally._

Shawn let himself remain still. He wasn't sure he'd be able to do anything else.

"Shawn!"

 _Gus?_

"Shawn, hey buddy come on."

Shawn realized that Gus was kneeling next to him, looking at him sideways with his face nearly on the floor. _What a strange way to look at someone._

 _Oh crap I'm still on the floor._

Shawn tried to put his arms under him and push himself upwards but failed immediately.

"Whoa man take it easy, help is coming."

"Don' need help." Shawn slurred out. _Why isn't my tongue working?_

"Shawn, your head is bleeding, just take it easy."

 _Bleeding?_

"You were knocked out for a minute or two."

 _Knocked out? Gus stop imagining things. If I was really bleeding we both know you'd be about a half mile away at this point._

"Over here!" Gus yelled above Shawn.

Shawn became aware that two new sets of knees were kneeling next to him.

 _Can knees kneel?_

"What happened to him?" One of the pairs of knees asked.

"He was hit over the head with a sealed beer bottle by that deranged man over there. He was out for a minute or two." Gus answered.

The paramedics turned toward Shawn again.

"Hi Shawn. I'm John and this is Mary from the Santa Barbara Fire Department. Do you remember what happened?"

Shawn closed his eyes as the headache radiating from his temple demanded his full attention. It was becoming incredibly hard to think. He started to reach toward his head but Gus stopped him.

"Just take it easy man."

Shawn took a moment to answer John's question.

"Crazy guy, beer bottle, Gus's date went out the window."

"Ignore that last part." Gus said grudgingly, but looked down at Shawn sympathetically as he saw Mary preparing gauze with antiseptic.

"Now this might sting a bit." She said as she pressed the gauze pad into Shawn's temple.

Shawn winced painfully. "Sorry kid, but we need to stop the bleeding."

"'m not bleedin'."

"Shawn." Gus put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just let them do what they need to."

"'Kay buddy." Shawn said, letting his eyes slip closed again.

However the comforting darkness was short-lived as his right eye was opened and blinded by a light. Shawn thought it was incredibly rude, and that feeling only increased when the same action was applied to his left eye. His headache was pounding throughout his skull at this point.

"His pupils are sluggish. We need to get him in, probably do a scan just in case."

Gus felt his heart sink. The gravity of the situation began to hit him.

 _That should be me on the ground. Shawn was protecting me and this is what he gets. He didn't even think about himself, he only thought about helping me._

Gus shook his head in sadness.

The paramedics were preparing to put Shawn on the gurney when he reached out and clumsily grabbed Gus's arm.

"Buddy...you really need to pick better dates."

Gus smiled.

"I hear that."

He followed the paramedics and Shawn to the ambulance, refusing to drive separately. Shawn remained in and out of coherency throughout the short ride. Gus winced sympathetically anytime they went over a bump and he saw Shawn's eyes squeeze in pain.

 _Has to hurt like a-_

Okay we are here!" John announced and the doors were opened.

He briefly turned back to Gus. "He will be checked out by a doctor. You're welcome to follow and wait in the waiting room."

Gus nodded. "Thank you, but I've got a call to make first."

He watched as Shawn disappeared through the doors of the Emergency Room. He pulled out his phone and clicked send, placing the phone to his ear.

It rang a few times before a gruff voice answered. Gus took a steadying breath.

"Mr. Spencer, Shawn's hurt. You need to come to the hospital right now."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 **Alrighty, when I began this I had no idea where it would lead! This could be kept short but I'm thinking of making it into a deeper, multi-chapter fic? What do you think? Cory could be an interesting character-either good or bad *smiles evily***

 **I started writing and couldn't stop. It's 1am so if there are mistakes that's my bad. I'll go through and reread before I decide how to proceed. College is a bit overwhelming so it may take me a little longer to update compared to last time. This was a long chapter, and I hope it wasn't too boring leading up to the action! Please review! I love hearing from you!**


	2. Take Care

**Okay, first off, apologies. My life turned into a series of unfortunate events that completely impeded my ability to update. I'm still dealing with these unfortunate things so this will just be a short chapter to hold you over. Ugh! Life is just crazy sometimes, but all you can do is laugh it off.**

 **Also, this plot is still forming in my head so bear with me!**

 **-Still don't own Psych!**

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"A _bar_ fight? You've gotta be kidding me." Henry said to Gus, shaking his head.

"Mr. Spencer, it wasn't really a bar fight. This guy...this crazy guy came in and was actually coming after me." Gus said, still looking solemnly at the floor.

"Why would anyone come after you?"

"Well apparently tonight I'm 0 for 2 on dates. This one was the crazy guy's ex-fiancée."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." Henry sighed.

"I'm the one that should be sorry. Shawn's hurt because of me." Gus closed his eyes, his head still facing the ground.

"Gus." Henry put his hand on Gus's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up. You couldn't have known this was going to happen."

"Yeah sure, but I could've stood up for myself back there." Gus rubbed his hands over his face. "Shawn was protecting me and he...he got hurt because of it."

"Whoa Gus, what exactly did Shawn do?" Henry asked, feeling a strange sense of pride at Shawn's actions.

Gus took a breath. "Well the guy was hell bent on beating me to a pulp. He had a beer bottle flipped around in his hand and was grabbing me by the shirt. He was seconds away from smashing it over my head when Shawn lunged at him and took him to the ground."

"Atta kid!" Henry boasted, remembering all of the times he had taught Shawn how to take down an assailant.

"The problem was that Shawn's momentum carried him too far and he ended up on the ground. He was getting up when the guy-" Gus paused, remembering his best friend being knocked unconscious onto the bar floor.

Gus couldn't manage words anymore, instead he awkwardly swung his hand forward, imitating what happened. Henry understood.

"I know it's tough, but Shawn will be fine. He has a hard head." Henry tried to comfort Gus, although he was in fact extremely worried. Head injuries were never something to be taken lightly.

They had been waiting for under an hour when a doctor came to see them.

"Are you here for Shawn Spencer?"

"Yes, we are." They answered simultaneously, both of them remembering they were in this exact position under a year ago.

"Well I'm Dr. Holden. I've been evaluating Shawn."

"How's he doing?" Henry asked.

"He's going to have a pretty bad headache for the next few days. He has three stitches near his temple on his hairline and a moderate concussion. Because of the severity of his concussion, we need to keep him overnight and monitor him. We did a CT scan but that came back normal. No signs of bleeding in the brain."

"Okay, can we see him?"

"Of course. Right this way."

Gus and Henry followed the doctor through a series of doors, arriving at a dimly lit room.

"Like I said, he's going to have a pretty bad headache, but he was awake when I last left."

They both walked toward the bed on the other side of the room. Shawn had his arm draped over his eyes.

"Shawn?" Gus asked with hesitation.

"Hey buddy." Shawn replied, his arm still covering his eyes.

"How are you feeling, kid?" Henry asked.

"Like my head was tossed in a laundry machine"

"Sorry about that Shawn." Gus said sadly while looking down at his friend.

"Stop. There's nothing to be sorry about." Shawn said while easing his arm away from his eyes. He winced as the stab of light penetrated his skull. "Except, from now on, I'm picking your dates."

"You must be out of your damn mind." Gus said defensively, but softened when Shawn couldn't hide another wince as he moved his head. "I mean, thanks Shawn, really. You didn't have to do that for me." Gus gave him a surrendered look.

"Dude c'mon, we can't have that guy damaging your magic head now can we?"

Henry put his hand on Shawn's arm. "Son, I'm proud of you for what you did. But please, you have to be more careful."

Shawn rolled his eyes at the over-protective fatherly comment, but immediately regretted it as his vision swam in front of him and he became extremely dizzy. Gus and Henry noticed right away.

"Whoa, whoa take it easy kid." Henry tried to console him as the wave of discomfort passed.

"'m fine. Yep..." Shawn kept his eyes closed as the feeling subsided. "Please remind me...to never do that again."

"You got that right." Gus said.

"Shawn, you need to rest." Henry said firmly to his son. "They have to keep you here overnight."

Shawn visibly tensed at the thought of staying in the hospital. The last time he was stuck in a hospital was when he was fighting for his life. He was lost in his thoughts and absentmindedly rubbing at the scar on the back of his arm when Gus interrupted him.

"Hey Shawn, it's gonna be okay. I'll stay here with you, alright?"

Shawn brought his hand back in front of him and smiled weakly at Gus. "Just like old times?"

"Yeah, minus the shenanigans and your father yelling at us."

They both laughed at the memories of them when they were younger.

"In that case, I'm staying too." Henry added. "Someone has to keep you two out of trouble."

"Dad, we aren't twelve."

"You sure about that?"

Shawn was about to roll his eyes when he reminded himself that was a bad idea. Instead he took the civilized and mature approach of sticking his tongue out toward his father. Henry filled the eye-rolling void himself.

"Unbelievable."

Shawn looked toward Gus with his hand in a fist. Gus happily completed the act and bumped his fist into Shawn's.

"Glad you're okay, buddy."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Early the next morning, Jay was being released on bail. He had a court appearance scheduled for next week and because of the fact he had no prior record, he was allowed to be released. Detective Carlton Lassiter was livid.

"Chief, this psycho marches into a bar strung out on prescription drugs and attacks one of our own with a deadly weapon? And he's being _released_?" Lassiter said in utter disbelief.

"Listen, I don't like this decision either, but I'm not the judge. You heard the girl, this was a one time occurrence."

"And we are just going to believe her?" Lassiter was now pacing in the Chief's office.

"We don't have a choice." Vick said firmly.

"And isn't it odd that his EX-fiancée posted bail? C'mon, you can't tell me this whole thing isn't weird." Lassiter said.

"Listen, Detective. I've heard enough. You haven't said anything that hasn't gone through my own head. I know it's weird, but what can we do?"

Lassiter paused, deciding if he was going to actually ask what he was thinking.

"I think we should...uh..." he rubbed his chin.

"What should we do, Detective?" Chief was growing impatient, but knew where he was headed.

"I think we should keep a uniform near Spencer. You know, just to monitor his safety. The idiot can't tie his own shoes without hurting himself." Lassiter said quickly, almost hoping the Chief didn't hear his concern for Shawn hidden in his voice.

"I'll assign someone."

"Thanks, Chief. Let me know if you need anything." Lassiter said before walking out.

He actually considered visiting Shawn, but his mind wouldn't let him. He kept picturing the last time Shawn got hurt. The image of him being pulled from the wrecked truck tugged at his mind. He'd never seen him so still...

"Carlton!" Detective Juliet O'Hara said excitedly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yes, O'Hara?"

Juliet got right to the point. "This whole thing that happened with Shawn is weird, right?"

Lassiter was surprised. "What do you mean, have you found something?"

"Yes!" She said excitedly, but then looked down at the mess of papers in her hands. "Well, possibly."

Lassiter looked down at the daunting pile of paper, knowing it was about to be a long day.

They both walked toward the conference room and closed the door, spreading out the papers in front of them.

"What do you think is in these?" Lassiter asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but it's weird..." She paused as she held up a piece of paper with a label on it. "Doesn't Gus work for this pharmaceutical company?"

Lassiter took the paper and scanned it closely.

"Yeah, he does. How is that connected?"

"It looks like Jay had made several calls and wrote a lot--and I mean A LOT of letters to that same company." She shuffled through the papers in front of them for emphasis.

"Well that's strange. Why would he do that?" Lassiter asked.

"I guess we need to do some digging." Juliet replied.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"You _idiot!_ " Cory yelled while punching Jay's arm. "How could you screw this up? I handed him to you on a silver platter and you can't even take care of it?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Jay replied.

"Well your sorry isn't going to help your predicament now is it?" Cory said coldly. "I can't believe we called off the marriage because of all this."

"Jesus Christ will you just stop? I know I messed up, but we can still make this work. Gus still does't know. That man was head over heals for you, baby. We can make this all work out still."

"It is even worth it?" Corey asked.

"Take that back, Cory." Jay narrowed his eyes. "You _know_ what he did. My father is _dead_ because of him. I need to repay him for that and you know I need your help. Once this is all over we disappear, alright?"

Cory relaxed her shoulders and sank into Jay's embrace.

"Yeah, alright baby." She said before kissing him.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 **Okay, what? Yeah, I know. Again, sorry for the delay. If you ever saw that episode of Supernatural where Sam has the rabbit's foot and has horrible luck, well that is me at the moment. Hopefully it will all work out! thanks for sticking with me.**

 **Please review, let me know what you think! Is it interesting enough?**


	3. Remember

**Hey Psychos, thanks for coming back! Not sure how long this will be but let's see where it goes.**

 **Author's note: I have no idea how realistic my plot is, but just go with it, alright? I need to give someone a reason to want to hurt Gus and who would ever want to hurt him? I guess that's all part of the mystery.**

 **Note again: seasons 3/4 are filled with great Henry and Shawn moments, and that makes me want to write more about them, both in this story and hopefully another.**

 **Also super sorry the chapters got duplicated and the first chapter disappeared. It's fixed now!**

 **Let's get crackin'**

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

As soon as Shawn was able to be released, he was driven straight to his father's house. He was still extremely irritable, but Henry felt terrible for his son and everything he had to go through. He could tell he was in constant pain and having to be woken up every two hours throughout the night was not helping him feel any better.

They pulled into the driveway of Henry's house.

"Alright kid, inside and straight to the couch." Henry said as he opened Shawn's door for him.

Instead of complaining, Shawn simply complied. "Yeah alright, Dad."

He slid out of the passenger seat, closing his eyes once he was on the ground, feeling as if he would fall off of the face of the earth if they remained open, not like that made any sense. He was way past sense at this point.

All he wanted to do was sleep for a week. But that was not possible with his father's incessant wake up calls to check him out. He couldn't sleep well anyway. Every time he closed his eyes he felt his mind struggling to remember something-something important. In truth, his memory of the entire scene at the bar was blurred at best, and that was not a feeling Shawn Spencer was ever used to and it made him feel extremely exposed.

 _There is something I need to remember._

"You okay Shawn?" Henry asked, concerned when Shawn stopped upon entering the house. "Let's get you over to the couch." He gently guided Shawn over.

"Dad, please stop treating me like a newborn deer." Shawn whined.

"A fawn. And right now a fawn would walk better than you are."

They reached the couch and Shawn plopped unceremoniously on the cushiony surface. He was thankful to no longer be standing. Immediately his mind wandered back to the bar.

 _Hotpants,_

 _acid-washed jeans,_

 _Jack,_

 _drinks,_

 _Gus,_

 _Cory...what is it about her?_

"Shawn!" Henry interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" He asked, irritated.

"You're staring off into the middle of nowhere, what's up?"

Shawn sunk farther into the cushions, looking defeated.

"Okay seriously, what is going on?" Henry said as he leaned forward, concern evident in his features.

"I can't remember." Shawn said quietly.

"What do you mean you can't remember?"

"Last night...I can't remember everything. There is something important that I should remember, that I _need_ to remember, but I can't." Shawn admitted.

"Well Shawn, I know that's a weird feeling for you, but you were cracked over the head pretty good, you're lucky you even remember anything."

"I know, but I just have this nagging feeling that there is something important I'm forgetting. It's something about Gus's date, I just don't know what." Shawn shook his head.

"Shawn, all the matters right now is that you rest and get back to 100%. You don't have any cases right now so just take it easy."

Shawn didn't reply. Instead he leaned back with his eyes closed. To anyone on the outside, it would appear he was doing what his father asked: resting. But on the inside, Shawn's mind was racing. He was attempting to piece together the night prior, but everything was blurred and choppy. He couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was terribly wrong.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"I got it!" Juliet yelled as she jumped to her feet.

Lassiter flinched and looked up at her in irritation. They had been going over the pile of papers for hours with no definitive answer. Lassiter was consumed in what had to be his hundredth sheet of records from the pharmaceutical company that Jay had been writing to when Juliet made her proclamation.

"Sorry..." she said sympathetically as she realized how her announcement caught Lassiter off guard, which slightly amused her. "But I think I've got it."

"What is it?" Lassiter said as he stood behind her and examined the document in her hand.

"It's Jay's father. He died somewhat recently and the whole thing is pretty complex." Juliet said as she glanced toward her partner.

"Complex how?"

"Well, for starters, Jay's father was a convicted felon. When he was younger he was involved with a gang up north in the Bay Area. He was only 18 when he was an accessory to murder. It was a robbery gone bad and he was the getaway driver. Apparently he had no idea someone was killed. The judge gave him 4 years with 15 years parole. He got out, met his wife, and soon she was pregnant. They moved down here when Jay was born. He's been clean ever since."

"Interesting. How did he end up dead? Some really old grudge?" Lassiter asked.

"No, cancer." Juliet replied.

Lassiter lowered his brow, still trying to connect all the elements.

"This guy had no form of insurance or means to pay for any type of treatment. It was stage 3, and the chance of survival even with treatment was very slim. His wife died when Jay was 3 and he had used all of his money to raise Jay and give him a shot at life. Once Jay moved out, the guy was basically homeless. I think Jay did his best to support him but he could only do so much. Except the past two years, it seems that Jay's father lived with him."

"Okay, so what is with the pharmaceutical company?"

"Jay has been paying for medicine for his father for the past two years. I guess he did some research and found that there are drugs that can possibly delay the effects of his father's cancer. It is a far-fetched concept for this situation, but it seems Jay was desperate."

"He probably felt guilty for leaving his father to fend for himself when he moved out. Also, how long has Cory been with him?"

"Just under two years, it seems." Juliet answered while still scanning the papers spread out in front of her.

"I know this whole thing is bigger than just a jealous ex. Nice work O'Hara, we just need to find-" Lassiter froze as his eyes caught sight of a name.

It took Juliet a second to realize her partner had stopped talking. She looked up and could see his eyes were locked on a sheet of paper.

"Carlton?"

"Lassiter!"

He blinked and looked over at her with a semi-shocked expression.

"I think I've got it."

He handed her the paper.

"Recognize any names on there?"

Juliet's eyes scanned the list of names rapidly. She saw delivery dates, addresses, prescription names, and a list of pharmaceutical representatives assigned to each address. Her eyes stopped when she recognized the name at the bottom of the list.

"Oh my God. It's Gus. What does this mean?" She said, feeling her voice rise as her heart rate did.

"I think Jay has a grudge against Guster. He was the one delivering the medicine to Jay's father. I think somehow he blames him for letting him die. Is that reaching too much?"

"No way, look at all these letters!" Juliet said as she pointed to the dozens of letters written to the company. All of them contained threatening messages and were dated very recently.

"Why weren't we informed of any of these threats?" Lassiter said angrily.

"You know how companies work. They'll do anything to avoid a possible scandal and honestly, I don't think they took the threats very seriously. Also, he only wrote them for the past two weeks."

"So let's get this straight." Lassiter said, facing the whiteboard. "Jay's father is sick and Jay wants to help him. He turns to pharmaceuticals because he saw no other option. He pays for the meds, but his father ends up dying within two years anyway. And this entire time, Guster is the one he's dealing with so he ends up targeting him." Lassiter said as he circled the "BG" he had written on the board for Gus.

"Whether or not this is true, we can't take any chances." Juliet replied. "We need to find Gus."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Gus was relieved to say the least. He spent the night in Shawn's room and despite not getting a lot of sleep, he was feeling okay. He was just happy that Shawn was able to go home when morning came. He was there every time Shawn was woken up and asked to repeat the four words that the doctor had told him to remember when he was first brought in. Of course, Shawn remembered them perfectly and would then proceed to tell his father that he was participating in child abuse, to which Henry would remind Shawn that he was nearly 30 years old and therefore not a child. The arguing repeated on a cycle, but it made Gus smile because it meant Shawn was feeling enough like himself to intentionally irritate Henry.

Gus was also feeling great because he was able to see Cory again today. Even though her ex is insane, Gus was not about to let this beautiful woman slip away. He was even more ecstatic about the fact that she had invited him over for brunch, which she stated over the phone was "perfect apology meal."

He drove the blueberry over to her house after Shawn was discharged and on his way to Henry's. He parked in the driveway, adjusted his collar in the mirror one last time, and approached her door, ringing the doorbell once.

She answered with a smile and invited him in. He followed her but nearly tripped when she stopped abruptly just a few feet inside. She turned around and Gus was confused at her sad expression.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way." She said with a shake of her head. Gus was about to ask what was wrong as she looked away but he felt a strong grip pull him backwards and place a cloth over his nose or mouth. He held his breath for as long as he could while struggling but inevitably failed to free himself. He sunk to the ground and his vision faded with every passing second. He felt his body being moved back toward the driveway and he was lifted into what he assumed to be a car or van of some sort.

The last thing Gus remembered was seeing Cory walk away from him as the back door was closed and the last semblance of consciousness left him.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Henry was pleased that his son had actually slept for an hour right when they got back to his house. He only had to wake him up a few more times to be safe before he could let Shawn sleep for several hours at a time. He approached his son, who was sprawled on the couch, and was immediately taken aback by his appearance. He looked pale and had a sheen of sweat coating his forehead. His face was twisted in pain and his eyes were rapidly moving beneath the lids. His breath was coming in harsh pants and he was mumbling incoherently.

"Shawn!" Henry said while shaking Shawn's shoulder. "Wake up! It's just a dream."

At Henry's touch, Shawn bolted upright. Henry could see his eyes looked unfocused and almost terrified. Shawn slowly became aware that he was awake and immediately buried his head in his arms.

"Oh my God..." he said as he sunk his head back into the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Shawn, what's wrong?" Henry asked, still concerned at Shawn's appearance.

"My head." He said, his voice mumbled against the cushion.

"I'll get you some painkillers. You need to take the antibiotic for your cut anyway." Henry replied.

"No no, no painkillers. Can't have...can't be foggy." Shawn gritted out.

"Shawn you being in pain isn't going to help you!"

"I need to be able to think." He slowly lifted his head so he could look toward his dad. "There is something I'm missing so please...just give me Advil. I'm fine, really." He did his best to look as if his head wasn't exploding, but based on his father's face, he had failed miserably.

Henry sighed and went to the kitchen to get the necessary pills. Shawn slowly shifted himself into a sitting position and put his head in his hands. In his dream he was out on a boat, quite literally fishing for his memory of the previous night. Normally he would appreciate the irony, but in his current state it was simply irritating. His line had caught it, but broke within seconds, so he dove into the water to find the memory he needed so desperately. He could hear his mind yelling at him to find what he was missing and that if he couldn't remember everything from last night, then very bad things were on the horizon. He kept diving deeper and deeper until he could no longer see where he was going. He started kicking toward the surface but it was like he was weighed down. No matter how hard he kicked, he remained under the surface. He was screaming for air when his dad woke him up.

Henry returned with the pills and a glass of water. Shawn took all four offered Advil and the antibiotic. The last thing he needed was for his stitched cut to be infected. He leaned back into the couch cushion and sighed.

"Still can't remember?" Henry asked gently.

"Nope. Nothing." Shawn said bitterly.

There was a pause between them. Henry folded his hands together and looked at Shawn."

"How many hats?"

"Are you serious?" Shawn shot him a look of anger.

"Yes. Now, how many hats?"

"You know this is actually ridiculous. I can't do this with you right now."

"Fine, then good luck remembering anything from last night." Henry did his best to sound like a scolding father, but it was difficult because his heart tore at Shawn's frustration.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Henry actually thought Shawn had fallen back to sleep but Shawn shifted forward, placing his head in his hands again.

"You know Shawn, just be-"

"Eight."

"What?"

"Eight hats." Shawn looked at his dad seriously.

Henry felt his heart lighten.

"Good Shawn. Now keep remembering, you can do this. It's all there."

Shawn shut his eyes again, mentally replaying all the steps from the night. Things started to become clearer. He could see the pool table, Jack's meaty fists grabbing him, sitting at the bar with Cory and Gus, Jay marching through the bar, Jay grabbing Gus- _Gus._

"I...I think I'm getting something."

He kept his eyes closed, focusing on the scene where Gus was about to be turned into a Whack-a-Mole. _What about Cory?_ Cory was vocal when Jay first came in, but once Shawn started talking, she became oddly quiet. He implored his mind to focus on her in that scene, realizing quickly what he had missed before.

"She looks irritated. She doesn't look concerned for Gus at all. Something is not going to plan for her!"

"Who are you talking about Shawn?" Henry asked.

"Cory! Somehow she's involved in this whole thing. She played a good part but when it finally came down to the end scene she let her demeanor slip. For some reason I think they were both after Gus." Shawn looked up at his dad, unsure of how to proceed.

"Why would anyone come after Gus? Are you sure Jay isn't just the jealous ex that got high and decided to get some revenge?"

"No. I know I'm right and I know something is totally wrong with that story. Cory _immediately_ came over to him when we entered the bar. I love my best friend but that girl is way out of his league. Dad, we need to find Gus. Where did he go after he left the hospital?"

"To see Cory." Henry replied.

"Oh my God. Dad, this is bad." Shawn felt his heart drop to his stomach and suddenly became aware that his best friend was in danger; he just didn't know why.

Shawn saw his dad glance at his cell phone and try to hide the shocked expression that washed over his face.

"Dad?"

Henry looked toward his son.

"Dad, what is it?"

Henry looked at Shawn sympathetically.

"It's Gus, he's been taken."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 **More action coming next chapter. Sorry for the delay! Shawn will do anything to stop Gus from getting hurt...**


	4. Fair Trade

**This chapter ended up being longer than expected. I want to just jump into the action but the story needs some foundation to stand on. I promise it will be rewarding. Thanks for sticking with me!**

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Shawn was on his feet before the thought of doing so even finished running through his mind. Henry saw his son close his eyes and stagger slightly, but when he opened them again they were filled with fire, resolution, and of course, stubbornness.

"Whoa Shawn, where are you going?" Henry asked as he grabbed Shawn's arm when Shawn started toward the door.

"It's Gus, Dad. _Gus."_ Shawn said through clenched teeth.

"Hang on a sec kid, we don't even know where to start." He gave Shawn a look and put the phone back to his ear.

A few more minutes of Henry's incessant "Uh huh's" and "Yeah's" nearly drove Shawn up the wall. Finally, his dad put his phone back in his pocket and looked at his anxious son.

"Calm down, Shawn. Lassiter and O'Hara have been working all night. They have made the connections and think they have and idea of where Gus is being taken."

Shawn started to move past Henry again. "Where do you think you're going?" Henry asked while annoyingly latching onto Shawn again, ceasing his forward momentum.

"Are you kidding? You said they have a lead. Let's go!" Shawn said, his voice rising slightly.

"Shawn, you're in no condition to leave this house." Henry said matter-of-factly.

"Like hell I'm not!" Shawn shrugged out of his father's grip. "Either you're coming with me or I'm calling a cab."

 _At least he's smart enough not to drive in this condition._

"Why can't we let the detectives do their job?"

"Because I can help, Dad! I can't just sit here while my best friend is taken and possibly..." he didn't let himself finish the sentence. "Let's go."

Shawn glared at Henry, his anger not directed toward his father but directed at the fact that Gus was missing and Shawn somehow found a way to blame himself. Despite Henry's opposition to the idea, he knew his stubborn son would find a way around it. He figured if he at least came with Shawn, he could prevent him from making a stupid mistake and getting hurt.

At least that was the hope.

They both climbed into Henry's old (but recently repaired) truck. Henry glanced over at Shawn and saw him wince as he settled in the passenger seat.

 _He'll tell me he's fine until he can't stand anymore._

"What's the lead?" Shawn asked as the truck was put into reverse.

"Storage unit downtown. Lassiter and Juliet will meet us."

"Alright. Just...just hurry." Shawn leaned against the window. Henry noticed he was carefully feeling the stitches along his hairline and Henry was reminded of the very real danger they were about to face. He just hoped to God they wouldn't be too late.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"According to these records, they had a storage unit in their possession for years. If we have to choose a lead to follow, that's our best bet of where they took Gus." Lassiter said while putting his jacket on.

"Let's get out there then." Juliet agreed and strode next to her lanky partner, walking slightly faster than comfortable to keep up with his pace. "Shawn and Henry are meeting us there I assume."

"What do you mean you assume?" Lassiter asked while eyeing his partner.

"I gave Henry the update and well, you know Shawn. No matter how he feels right now, he's going to do everything he can to get to Gus."

"God help us all." Lassiter said while shaking his head.

They exited the station and were clothed in Santa Barbara's morning sun. The both closed the doors to Lassiter's car and within the seconds the blue Crown Vic was exiting the parking lot and pursuing their only lead on Gus's location.

"And what about Cory?" Lassiter asked.

"Buzz is on that. Nothing so far, but once we find out where she is, if she isn't with Jay, I have a feeling we will need her."

"One thing at a time. Let's find out exactly what we are dealing with."

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Gus woke up in a small, dark, was that _damp?_ room that was seriously lacking internal decor. His criticisms of the interior design were brief and interrupted due to the fact that he caught sight of a figure standing in the darkened corner.

"Nice place you have here. I appreciate the invite, but I think we should take a raincheck on this one." Gus was attempting to keep his nerves hidden. He had no idea how Shawn always remained so calm when they were in danger. Yes, he was very dramatic about a splinter, but anytime he and Gus were staring down the barrel of a gun, Shawn could always smooth talk his way out of it or at least until help arrived. Gus did his best to channel his inner Shawn but found it extremely difficult given the circumstances.

"I suppose you know why you're here?" The shadow said to him.

"No, no I certainly do not. Mind enlightening me?"

"You killed my father." The voice said menacingly.

"I did no such thing."

"Yes, you did."

"You must be out of your damn mind. I've never killed anyone. I don't even like to kill bugs, man."

The shadow stepped forward and took on the features of a man. The features became clearer and Gus immediately recognized who was standing in front of them.

"Jay? From the bar?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, so you are capable of remembering things?" He took another step forward. "I figured you'd remember killing my father too."

"Listen, I have no id-"

"Just stop!" Jay took another step forward so he was now standing over Gus in the small room. "Cancer patient. 62 year old. He was on your route."

Gus thought for a minute. "So your father dies of cancer, and that is my fault?"

"Exactly."

"Man, that's messed up."

"You don't get it. He couldn't afford treatment so taking pills like that was his only option. Within two years he was dead." Jay said, his voice cracking slightly on the last word. "He didn't deserve that man, not after everything he did for me."

Gus actually felt a pang of sympathy for him. This feeling diminished completely when Jay pulled a gun out of his waistband, pointing it straight toward Gus.

"Whoa, whoa Jay. Hey, take it easy. This isn't going to bring him back!" Gus tried to make himself look as small as possible. He figured it was a ridiculous idea and that he probably looked even more ridiculous sitting on the ground in a ball.

"I know it's not. But that doesn't matter."

Gus closed his eyes in preparation for what was to come.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Juliet and Lassiter arrived at the storage unit that was recorded to be in Jay's possession. Juliet approached silently, listening for any signs of movement.

She could distinctly hear two voices inside. She gestured to Carlton to radio for their backup to move in while she checked around back. The entire unit was sealed shut, with only the garage style door as a way for entrance.

 _Definitely not ideal for a hostage situation._

 _"_ All units move in. I repeat, all units move in. Possible hostage situation in progress. Maintain your distance, we don't want to spook him." Lassiter clicked off the radio and turned to Juliet. "We are taking no chances here. Seal the area. Where's our negotiator?"

"Right here." A new voice answered behind Lassiter. "I'm Chris Paxley, SPBD Hostage Negotiator. Just call me Chris."

"Chris, we have no idea what is going on in there right now but we can assume we don't have a lot of time. I assume you have been briefed?"

"Crazy guy out for revenge against one of your consultants?"

"To put it simply, yes. He wants to kill Gus and we believe they are both inside. We think it is best to make contact as quickly as possible."

Chris grabbed his headset and put it to his ear.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Henry and Shawn arrived at a scene of what looked like organized chaos. Several cruisers surrounded a storage unit at a distance. Shawn spotted Lassiter and Juliet and was out of the truck before the wheels stopped spinning.

"Shawn!" Henry yelled as he slipped out of the car and toward the scene.

The short sprint had Shawn's head spinning and pounding simultaneously. He reached Lassiter and Juliet but had to take a moment to allow the whirlpool within his brain to settle before speaking.

"Is he in there?" He ground out, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain radiating from his skull.

"Shawn, sit down." Juliet attempted to help him but he flinched back.

"No! Tell me what's happening!" Shawn pushed the pain away from his mind and looked at the detectives with a determination neither of them had seen before.

"Spencer, calm down. We think they are both in here. See that guy with the headset? He's about to contact Jay."

Shawn looked toward the storage unit and felt his heart drop. His best friend was in there because of him. He was horrified to learn what condition Gus would be in when they got him out- _if_ they got him out. He wanted to get in there and get Gus out of there himself. He realized he'd probably get himself killed, but that sounded much better than standing here and doing nothing while his best friend is murdered right in front of him.

Henry joined them a few seconds later. He saw Lassiter nod toward Chris as he hit the dial button on his cellphone. He noticed that Shawn looked haggard and was swaying slightly on his feet. He discreetly grabbed his elbow as Lassiter walked over to Chris, who he hoped was now in contact with Chris. Henry guided Shawn over to lean against a cruiser, which he did willingly, despite the desperate look in his eyes. Henry spotted Juliet now sitting in Lassiter's car, excitedly talking on the phone to someone. Based on her lips, he thought she said "Get over here." before she hung up.

"They'll get him out of this Shawn." Henry tried to console his son.

Shawn gazed at the storage unit, hoping if he stared long enough he could see what was inside. That may sound illogical, but to his muddled brain, it made perfect sense. All he wanted was to save his best friend.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

A ringing brought Gus's eyes back up toward his captor.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Jay grabbed his phone and spun around angrily toward the other side.

"What?!" Jay yelled into his phone.

Gus watched Jay's expression turn from anger to, _what was that? Fear?_ The looked quickly disappeared and Jay's vengeful mask was back in place.

"I don't care who's here. I'm ending this. All of you better clear out of here or he won't be the only one that ends up dead."

Gus wanted to tell Jay to just listen to the guy, but figured the less he talked, the longer he would continue breathing. His mind wandered to what Shawn was doing right now. He wondered if he even knew he had been taken. He hoped no. He knew Shawn would continue running on empty until Gus was safe and if he wasn't safe, Shawn would never forgive himself.

Gus saw Jay stiffen.

"You what?" He covered his mouth. "Cory? Is that you baby?"

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Only a few minutes had passed while Chris talked to Jay on the phone when another police cruiser driven by Buzz McNabb arrived on scene. He opened the back door, revealing Cory. Shawn felt his heart skip a beat as he realized they now had a bargaining chip for Gus. Sure, Jay wanted him dead, but at what price? Shawn was almost certain Jay would not be willing to give up Cory, especially since she was guilty as well. Once his head felt like he could stand again, he stood up with his father and made his way toward the center of operations. He looked at Juliet with hope in his eyes.

"Please tell me this is going to work."

"Officer Paxley is speaking with him now. From what it sounds like, having Cory here has changed things." Juliet replied, taking in Shawn's appearance. He looked exhausted and his attempts to mask the pain he was feeling failed hopelessly. Juliet felt her heart tear at the sight, knowing Shawn would never forgive himself if something happened to Gus.

"Alright Jay, you just hold tight and I will call you back in five minutes. Remember, you are surrounded and Cory is with us, so don't do anything to make this worse." Chris removed his headset and approached the group consisting of Juliet, Lassiter, Henry, and Shawn. The other offices still surrounded the scene.

"He's willing to make a trade." Chris told the group.

Lassiter looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding."

"He said he knows what he has done is wrong but it will only get worse for him and Cory if he finishes the job he came for."

Shawn winced at the thought of Jay killing Gus on the other side of the door they were no more than twenty feet from.

"Amazing. Didn't know the guy was capable of logic." Shawn said.

"Alright, what's the trade? If he thinks we are letting him go he's crazy. Let's not forget he has a court appearance for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and being under the influence of narcotics." Lassiter said.

"He says he will come peacefully as long as Cory goes free." Chris said.

"Huh." Juliet replied. "He's willing to give up everything for her? You believe him?"

"Based on their history and his reaction to Cory being here I believe him. But there's a catch."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Why can't anything be simple?"

Henry remained quiet. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and didn't want his verbalization to make it a reality.

"What's this _catch_?" Lassiter asked, already done with Jay's antics after researching him all night.

"You." Chris pointed to Shawn. "Are going to make the trade."

"No way. He's in no condition to be-"

"Dad, it's okay." Shawn interrupted his father, who had taken a protective step in front of Shawn.

"Like hell it is. How do we know he's not planning something else?"

"With all due respect, Henry, Jay really has no options here." Chris replied, doing his best to maintain a neutral tone. They all knew time was of the essence and every second they spent arguing gave Jay more time to change his mind or come up with an alternate plan. "Here's how it's going to happen. All of our backup officers are going to back off to a perimeter of fifty yards. Lassiter and Juliet, you'll be in flank position in case anything goes against the plan. Shawn, you'll be here by the cruisers with Cory. Jay is going to walk out with Gus and let Gus walk over to you while Cory goes toward Jay. Classic trade. Once both are secure we will move in and take Jay into custody."

"And what about Cory?" Shawn asked.

"We'll see about that."

"This seems too easy. Seriously, Jay is just trusting us to let Cory go free when we have the ability to take her into custody as well? I mean, he has to know that we know she's involved with the whole thing." Shawn was skeptical. Something wasn't sitting right with Jay's near-immediate willingness to let Gus go. However, he pushed it aside and realized it was their best chance at getting Gus back.

Lassiter began to reply but Shawn interrupted.

"Alright. Let's just get my best friend back."

"You heard him, let's do this!" Lassiter barked into the radio. "Chris, you call Jay and tell him what the plan is. McNabb, set up the perimeter of fifty yards. Juliet and I will get into position. Henry, you need to get behind the perimeter."

Henry grabbed Shawn's arm. "Shawn, I don't like this."

"I know. But what options do we have here? He is going to kill Gus if we don't do this right now." Henry looked into Shawn's eyes, noting they still had a glassy, unfocused look to them but hiding beneath the surface was determination.

"Just please...be careful."

Shawn gave him a lopsided grin. "When am I not?" He joined Chris near the cruiser.

"Always..." Henry whispered to himself. He felt sick leaving Shawn in this position but Shawn was right, they had no better option. A hostage situation resulting in a peaceful surrender never hurt anyone.

Right?

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

"Get up!" Jay said to his hostage. "We are leaving."

Gus was amazed at what had developed over the past half hour. He originally thought he'd be taken out of here in a body bag, a sight that will haunt his dreams for a while now, but now it appeared he'd be getting away without a scratch. Apparently the SPBD had a bargaining chip, and her name was Cory. Gus still couldn't shake the betrayal he felt when he realized Cory had been playing him all along, I mean, she's an accomplice to attempted murder! Shawn was right, he really needs to stop picking his own dates.

Gus stood up and Jay shoved him roughly in front of him. He reached down for the door handle and the dark, damp room was flooded with sunlight. Gus squinted at the light and was amazed and utterly confused at what he saw. There was Shawn, standing in front of a police cruiser just twenty feet away, his hand holding the crook of Cory's elbow. He looked terrible and she looked defiant and scared. _So this is what Jay was talking about when he talked about a trade._

 _"_ Hey buddy." Shawn called to Gus. "What did I tell you about your dates, man?"

Gus wanted to laugh. Despite the circumstances, Shawn was still trying to ease his worry with humor. He became grounded when Jay pushed him forward.

"Start walking."

He did as he was told.

"Go toward your murder-y psycho boyfriend." Shawn said to Cory.

Gus was so relieved to be walking toward his freedom but that relief flooded away when he saw Cory. She looked _different._ He couldn't place the look as she passed him briefly but something did not sit right with him. But he was nearing Shawn and the entire ordeal was almost over with so he pushed his paranoia out of his mind. _They'll be in custody soon and we will be back at the office. Shawn will want to stop for smoothies of course._

Shawn smiled in relief as Gus walked closer and closer. Cory had reached Jay at this point and they were embracing like two newly-dating high schoolers.

"MOVE IN!" Shawn and Gus both heard the shouts as their backup began to swarm the scene.

"Well this is something to add to our resume." Shawn said while holding out his fist.

"Yeah, it's something." Gus replied while hitting his fist against Shawn. "You alright?"

"Well, now I am." Shawn admitted. "I knew Cory was up to something last night but I just couldn't place it."

The officers were getting closer. Jay and Cory remained in their awkward embrace. Jay was whispering in her ear. Gus looked at them, cringing at the awkwardness of the position they were in. That's when he realized Cory was reaching for something.

"Oh my God Shawn, he has a-"

"Gun!" Shawn yelled as Cory found the gun tucked in Jay's back waistband.

Despite Lassiter's yell of "Freeze!" everything spun into motion.

Cory spun toward Shawn and Gus, gun pointed directly at them.

Shawn saw the gun before Gus had remembered it even existed and had already started his motion before Cory turned. He wrapped his arms around Gus and pulled him toward the ground, spinning 180 degrees so Gus's body now faced the perimeter of officers.

Gus felt himself get jerked downward as Shawn's yell of "Gun!" was drowned out by the deafening sound of Jay's .45 caliber handgun sounded off like a ceremonial cannon. It was immediately followed by several shots from the other officers. He saw both Cory and Jay drop, Cory holding her arm and Jay his leg, before Gus slammed into the ground with jarring force.

He waited to feel the burning pain of a newly acquired gunshot wound but it never came. He wanted to yell in relief but he could barely breathe after Shawn drove him into the ground.

 _Shawn._

"Hey! Shawn?" Gus tried to shake Shawn off of him.

"Yeah buddy?" Shawn said thinly.

"You're kinda crushing me." Gus said, relief evident in his voice.

"Oh, sorry." Shawn rolled off of Gus awkwardly but cried out in pain when he made contact with the ground.

"Shawn! What's wrong? Is it your head?" Gus said while scrambling to his knees next to Shawn.

By now, the officers had apprehended Cory and Jay and Henry was nearing the scene.

"No..." Shawn said through clenched teeth.

Gus was confused. But then looked down in horror at the growing red stain on Shawn's left side. He looked at Shawn and saw his friend slipping. "Stay with me Shawn! Hey!" He yelled to someone, anyone. "Man down! We need help!"

Henry couldn't get a clear look at anything because the cruisers were in the way but when he heard Gus's desperate yell of "Man down!" Henry practically sprinted the rest of the way. He arrived at a sight he wished he never had to see. His son, limp on the ground, with Gus doing everything to stop the crimson liquid pouring from his body. Before he knew it, Henry was at Shawn's side, forcing him to stay awake.

"God damnit Shawn!"

"Hey Pop..."

"You stay with me, you hear me?"

"'f course I hear you, y-you're right next t' me."

"Good, just focus on my voice. Help is coming."

"'kay." Shawn whispered back.

Henry and Gus looked at each other and saw the fear present in each other's eyes.

"Shawn, I'm sorry kid. This is gonna hurt." Henry had folded his outer shirt and had now pressed it-hard-into Shawn's side. Shawn yelled out in pain, causing Gus to feel hot tears building behind his eyes. His screams turned into labored breaths and Shawn gripped Gus's forearm.

"I'm not going anywhere, buddy. It's going to be okay." Gus did his best to sound convincing and ignore the pool of blood forming around his friend's prone body.

"Ambulance is here in five." Lassiter said as he and Juliet knelt next to them. "Keep pressure on that and keep him awake!"

 _This was never supposed to happen._

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 **Okay, I'm evil. I'll update soon I promise. But wow this got a little crazy. This idea actually only came to me today so hopefully it played out. Thanks for reviewing! They make my day!**

 **See you soon!**


	5. I Could Sleep For a Week (Literally)

**We are getting to the end of the story. Thanks for your reviews!**

 **(Still don't own Psych)**

 **Enjoy~**

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 _Gunshot wound left abdomen_

 _Prior concussion_

 _Transport immediately_

Shawn's last conscious moments were swarmed with an array of activity. He remembered his father kneeling next to him, berating him for sleeping in too late or something while simultaneously causing complete agony to erupt from his side. He remembered Gus was on his other side. His poor best friend covered in blood. _Is that mine?_ He didn't particularly care. He wanted to vanish from this scene and be home in his own bed. His pounding head would thank him later. Despite his Dad's constant yelling at him to keep his eyes open, Shawn took one last glance at his best friend before letting gravity win the war against his eyelids.

 _Gus was safe_

When he awoke again he wasn't surprised to see Gus sitting on his same side, except the scenery was all wrong. Instead of being surrounded by police cruisers and the storage facility, he was in a room. He also was no longer on the ground and Gus was sitting in a chair instead of kneeling. His eyes allowed the picture to come into focus and he could see his best friend was asleep in a very uncomfortable position on the plastic chair. Shawn thought he'd never hear the end of Gus's sensitive spine and how he always has to do this for Shawn. _Not my fault your crazy date has a thing for guns._

Shawn realized he had no idea how long it had been since they left the storage facility. He could see Gus had changed his clothes, which he supposed was good, since they were covered in _his_ blood. He wondered if he had woken up before now but just couldn't remember it. It seemed likely, since the pounding in his still-muddled brain reminded him that his memory wasn't at its best.

He realized someone was missing. _Dad._

Before Shawn could even finish the thought his door gently opened. A figure quietly slipped into his dimly lit room and silently shut the door behind him. The figure was holding coffee and by the way it held its posture, Shawn could tell it was in rough shape. It was nearing the plastic chair on the other side of Shawn's bed and he realized the figure hadn't noticed he was awake. _Poor guy must be out of sorts._

"Dad?" He croaked out, surprised at how difficult it was to squeeze those words out of his raspy throat. _Why did his throat hurt so badly?_

"Shawn?!" Henry nearly dropped his coffee as he rushed toward Shawn's bed. "You're awake?" Henry's face came into view and Shawn could see that his father looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Well I sure hope I am." Shawn nearly whispered, finding the quieter his voice was, the lest each word hurt.

"Oh thank God." Henry grabbed Shawn's hand with both of his and held it against his cheek. "We were so worried."

Shawn wanted to say more but the scratchy feeling in his throat prohibited from doing so. He eyed the glass of water next to his bed and Henry immediately realized what he needed. He let the cool liquid repair the walls of his throat.

"Gus, wake up." Henry said to the still-sleeping man. He wasn't surprised he hadn't woken up, given that he had barely slept over the past several days.

Gus jerked away, looking irritated, however, once he realized why he was jerked from his peaceful slumber the irritation vanished.

"Shawn?"

"Yeah, buddy."

"Thank God you're alright." Gus said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Shawn eyed both his father and his best friend. They were staring at him as if he were one of the great wonders of the world adn it was starting to freak him out.

 _What the heck happened?_

"You don't remember?"

 _Did I say that out loud?_

"Shawn, you were nearly killed." Henry said, still gripping his son's hand. "We need to get the doctor in here since you're awake."

 _Killed? Seriously?_

"I remember the storage unit." Shawn said. "We were trading Cory and Gus...Cory had a gun and-"

"You saved my life." Gus said, eyes boring into Shawn's.

Shawn thought about what his best friend said and the memory came rushing back.

 _"Gun!"_

 _He was moving toward Gus before his best friend even realized what was happening. He grabbed him and turned him away from Cory, shielding him with his body as they made their way to the ground. He heard the gun go off and felt Gus's elbow drive into his side, stealing his breath away as they hit the ground awkwardly. He rolled off of Gus only to be met with a sharp pain radiating from his left side, wondering how Gus's elbow could cause him so much pain. The thought quickly rolled from his mind as he looked up at the shocked expression on his best friend's face and followed his eyes to his side. He saw a growing stain of red forming on his shirt and quickly realized that it wasn't caused by his friend's elbow._

 _The pain was extreme. It was made about a million times worse when his father used one of his shirts to attempt to stop the bleeding. Shawn briefly thought that the only good thing about that is at least one of his father's awful shirts will be ruined. The thought was replaced by searing pain as his father continued to press on the free-flowing wound, yelling at him to stay awake. Everything became blurred after that._

"You still awake, Shawn?" A new voice said to him. He didn't even remember closing his eyes.

"He was up and talking a few minutes ago." His dad replied.

"'m awake." He said sluggishly while fighting to open his eyes.

"That's it. Do you know where you are?" Shawn saw that the voice was indeed connected to a person and from what he could tell, this lab-coat toting individual was his doctor.

"Hospital?"

"Yep. You've been our guest here for nearly a week."

Shawn thought he felt his heart stop and he'd believe it if it wasn't for the steady beeping of the machine telling him otherwise. His eyes widened and he looked at his father. Henry saw fear in his son's eyes coupled with confusion.

"A _week_?" He said, voice rising. He regretted speaking louder as his throat protested. "What happened?" He whispered, still looking at his father.

"Well, the good news is you are going to be fine. You had us worried for a while but you have showed significant improvement the past two days." His doctor said while looking over his chart.

Shawn looked between his father and Gus, seemingly wanted their take of what happened. He hated when doctors explained all of the annoying technically stuff.

"The bullet entered your back on the left side below your shoulder and embedded in your spleen." His dad began to explain. "You had lost so...so much blood when we finally got you to a hospital and they had to operate right away. You had three pints of blood transfused and were touch and go for a while. They had to remove your spleen." Henry said sadly.

Shawn looked panicked and turned toward Gus, who recognized why Shawn was panicking.

"Don't worry Shawn, humans don't technically need a spleen to live a fully functional life."

"Well...that's good, I guess." Shawn said, still trying to accept the fact that one of his organs had been _removed_ from his body.

"He's right." His doctor interrupted. "You may be more prone to a cold or other infections but all in all, you will live a fully healthy life."

"Thanks, doctor." Henry turned toward him and the doctor realized he was not needed at the current moment.

"I'll be back in a little while to replace your antibiotics." He said before closing the door behind him.

Henry and Gus leaned closer to Shawn, still staring at him like he was a newborn chick.

"We really need to stop meeting like this." Shawn attempted to diffuse the situation. In truth, his head was still pounding and he wanted to go back to sleep. The problem was, he could see the anguish painted across his father's and friend's face very clearly. Although he had no recollection of the past week, he could tell it hadn't been easy for them. "Why is my throat so rough, by the way?"

"You were on a respirator for the first 24 hours." Gus said. Shawn was taken aback by the fact he was in such bad shape he couldn't even _breathe_ on his own when he arrived here. _Must have been an awful sight for them._ "Shawn, you didn't have to-"

"Yes, I did." Shawn interrupted, knowing exactly where his best friend was going. "I'm four months older than you, and by the laws of nature it was an act of atrium."

"You mean altruism." Gus said, shaking his head again.

"Yeah, that. I can't just let you get taken out by a crazy person. I'd disrupt the laws of the earth or something." Shawn gave him a slight grin.

"Shawn..."

"Gus, buddy, stop. Seriously, you would have done the same thing in my position. I did what I did and all of us are fine now." Shawn said seriously.

"Yeah except you are _missing_ your _spleen_."

"I don't miss it that much. It can call me if it misses me at all." He was doing his best to keep up his front against his discomfort. The tiredness was beginning to pull at his eyes again.

"You're unbelievable."

Henry sat back in awe of their conversation. How his son managed to be so casual about his act of heroism evaded him. They all took Shawn's silliness and sarcasm for granted and no one ever realized how far he would go to protect the one's he loved.

"You scared the hell out of me kid, and it's not the first time." Henry said, releasing his grip on his son's hand. "But what you did was selfless and incredible. I could not be more proud of you, although I wish it was all under better circumstances."

"Thanks, Pop." Shawn replied to his dad, feeling his lips turn to a grin at his father's words.

"Hey, Gus?" Shawn said, beginning to lose his battle with consciousness.

"Yeah Shawn, I'm here." Gus replied, seeing his best friend's eyes begin to grow heavy.

"Remind me to never play pool again."

"I hear that." Gus said as he connected his fist to Shawn's, careful of the IV's connected to his friend's arm.

Henry and Gus watched as Shawn's eyes slipped closed and he fell into a peaceful sleep. They both leaned back in their respective chairs and sighed, noting how many times this exact action had been performed in the last several days. Except now, one thing was different.

They knew for certain that Shawn was going to be okay.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

 **So this idea started on Earth, boarded a spaceship, and took off for the land of unknowingness. Thanks for following this crazy ride. I kept the ending pretty simple, so I hope you enjoyed. I'm interested in writing tags/missing scenes so keep your eye out for that! Please review! I love hearing from you.**

 **Until next time psychos...**


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